II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1033 

To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to replace the current 

requirement for a biennial energy policy plan with a Quadrennial Energy 

Review, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 21, 2015 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. UDALL, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. 

HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to 

replace the current requirement for a biennial energy 

policy plan with a Quadrennial Energy Review, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quadrennial Energy 

5 Review Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the President’s Council of Advisors on 

2 Science and Technology recommends that the United 

3 States develop a governmentwide Federal energy pol4 icy and update the policy regularly with strategic 

5 Quadrennial Energy Reviews similar to the reviews 

6 conducted by the Department of Defense and other 

7 Federal agencies; and 

8 (2) the development of an energy policy result9 ing from a Quadrennial Energy Review would— 

10 (A) enhance the energy security of the 

11 United States; 

12 (B) create jobs; and 

13 (C) mitigate environmental harm. 

14 SEC. 3. QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 801 of the Department of 

16 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7321) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 801. QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW. 

19 ‘‘(a) QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW TASK

20 FORCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Once every 4 years 

22 after the date of enactment of the Quadrennial En23 ergy Review Act of 2015, the President shall estab24 lish a Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force (reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Apr 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1033.IS S1033

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1 ferred to in this section as the ‘Task Force’) to co2 ordinate the Quadrennial Energy Review. 

3 ‘‘(2) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The President shall 

4 designate appropriate senior Federal Government of5 ficials to be cochairpersons of the Task Force. 

6 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force may be 

7 comprised of representatives at level I or II of the 

8 Executive Schedule of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Department of Energy; 

10 ‘‘(B) the Department of Commerce; 

11 ‘‘(C) the Department of Defense; 

12 ‘‘(D) the Department of State; 

13 ‘‘(E) the Department of the Interior; 

14 ‘‘(F) the Department of Agriculture; 

15 ‘‘(G) the Department of the Treasury; 

16 ‘‘(H) the Department of Transportation; 

17 ‘‘(I) the Office of Management and Budg18 et; 

19 ‘‘(J) the National Science Foundation; 

20 ‘‘(K) the Environmental Protection Agen21 cy; and 

22 ‘‘(L) such other Federal agencies, and en23 tities within the Executive Office of the Presi24 dent, as the President considers to be appro25 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONDUCT OF REVIEW.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Quadrennial Energy 

3 Review shall be conducted to— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide an integrated view of impor5 tant national energy objectives and Federal en6 ergy policy; and 

7 ‘‘(B) identify the maximum practicable 

8 alignment of research programs, incentives, reg9 ulations, and partnerships. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—A Quadrennial Energy Re11 view shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) establish integrated, governmentwide 

13 national energy objectives in the context of eco14 nomic, environmental, and security priorities; 

15 ‘‘(B) recommend coordinated actions 

16 across Federal agencies; 

17 ‘‘(C) identify the resources needed for the 

18 invention, adoption, and diffusion of energy 

19 technologies; 

20 ‘‘(D) provide a strong analytical base for 

21 Federal energy policy decisions; 

22 ‘‘(E) consider reasonable estimates of fu23 ture Federal budgetary resources when making 

24 recommendations; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) be conducted with substantial input 

2 from— 

3 ‘‘(i) Congress; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the energy industry; 

5 ‘‘(iii) academia; 

6 ‘‘(iv) State, local, and tribal govern7 ments; 

8 ‘‘(v) nongovernmental organizations; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(vi) the public. 

11 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION OF QUADRENNIAL ENERGY RE12 VIEW TO CONGRESS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall publish and submit to Congress 

15 a report on the Quadrennial Energy Review 

16 once every 4 years; and 

17 ‘‘(B) more frequently than once every 4 

18 years, as the President determines to be appro19 priate, may prepare and publish interim reports 

20 as part of the Quadrennial Energy Review. 

21 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The reports described in 

22 paragraph (1) shall address or consider, as appro23 priate— 

24 ‘‘(A) an integrated view of short-term, in25 termediate-term, and long-term objectives for 


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1 Federal energy policy in the context of eco2 nomic, environmental, and security priorities; 

3 ‘‘(B) potential executive actions (including 

4 programmatic, regulatory, and fiscal actions) 

5 and resource requirements— 

6 ‘‘(i) to achieve the objectives described 

7 in subparagraph (A); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) to be coordinated across multiple 

9 agencies; 

10 ‘‘(C) analysis of the existing and prospec11 tive roles of parties (including academia, indus12 try, consumers, the public, and Federal agen13 cies) in achieving the objectives described in 

14 subparagraph (A), including— 

15 ‘‘(i) an analysis by energy use sector, 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(I) commercial and residential 

18 buildings; 

19 ‘‘(II) the industrial sector; 

20 ‘‘(III) transportation; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) electric power; 

22 ‘‘(ii) requirements for invention, adop23 tion, development, and diffusion of energy 

24 technologies as they relate to each of the 

25 energy use sectors; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) other research that informs 

2 strategies to incentivize desired actions; 

3 ‘‘(D) assessment of policy options to in4 crease domestic energy supplies and energy effi5 ciency; 

6 ‘‘(E) evaluation of national and regional 

7 energy storage, transmission, and distribution 

8 requirements, including requirements for renew9 able energy; 

10 ‘‘(F) an integrated plan for the involve11 ment of the Federal Laboratories in energy pro12 grams; 

13 ‘‘(G) portfolio assessments that describe 

14 the optimal deployment of resources, including 

15 prioritizing financial resources for energy-rel16 evant programs; 

17 ‘‘(H) mapping of the linkages among basic 

18 research and applied programs, demonstration 

19 programs, and other innovation mechanisms 

20 across the Federal agencies; 

21 ‘‘(I) identification of, and projections for, 

22 demonstration projects, including timeframes, 

23 milestones, sources of funding, and manage24 ment; 


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1 ‘‘(J) identification of public and private 

2 funding needs for various energy technologies, 

3 systems, and infrastructure, including consider4 ation of public-private partnerships, loans, and 

5 loan guarantees; 

6 ‘‘(K) assessment of global competitors and 

7 an identification of programs that can be en8 hanced with international cooperation; 

9 ‘‘(L) identification of policy gaps that need 

10 to be filled to accelerate the adoption and diffu11 sion of energy technologies, including consider12 ation of— 

13 ‘‘(i) Federal tax policies; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the role of Federal agencies as 

15 early adopters and purchasers of new en16 ergy technologies; 

17 ‘‘(M) priority listing for implementation of 

18 objectives and actions taking into account esti19 mated Federal budgetary resources; 

20 ‘‘(N) analysis of— 

21 ‘‘(i) points of maximum leverage for 

22 policy intervention to achieve outcomes; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) areas of energy policy that can 

2 be most effective in meeting national goals 

3 for the energy sector; and 

4 ‘‘(O) recommendations for executive 

5 branch organization changes to facilitate the 

6 development and implementation of Federal en7 ergy policies. 

8 ‘‘(d) REPORT DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of En9 ergy shall provide such support for the Quadrennial En10 ergy Review with the necessary analytical, financial, and 

11 administrative support for the conduct of each Quadren12 nial Energy Review required under this section as may 

13 be requested by the cochairpersons designated under sub14 section (a)(2). 

15 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION.—The heads of applicable Fed16 eral agencies shall cooperate with the Secretary and pro17 vide such assistance, information, and resources as the 

18 Secretary may require to assist in carrying out this sec19 tion.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item 

21 relating to section 801 in the table of contents of such 

22 Act is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 801. Quadrennial Energy Review.’’. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this Act or an 

24 amendment made by this Act supersedes, modifies, 

25 amends, or repeals any provision of Federal law not exVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Apr 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1033.IS S1033

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1 pressly superseded, modified, amended, or repealed by this 

2 Act. 

Æ 


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